Bite me
I was going to say “It all started so well” but then I realized that is not the case at all. The New York Mets fell behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the top of the 2nd inning. With 1 out Jayson Werth singled, Raul Ibanez doubled then Carlos Ruiz singled off of Mets starter Jenrry Mejia to drive in Werth to make it 1-0. Then Wilson Valdez grounded a ball toward second baseman Luis Hernandez and Hernandez attempted to tag Ruiz out but Ruiz eluded him so he threw to first base to get Valdez, then while the throw was made to second base to get Ruiz out for the final out of the inning Ibanez trotted home to make it 2-0 Phillies. It appeared that Ruiz ran out of the baseline to elude the tag of Hernandez but no umpire made that call and no Mets player or coach protested.
Poo poo
Then the brief ray of sunshine on the cloudy day, the 3rd inning. In the top of the 3rd the highlight was Josh Thole throwing out Shane Victorino attempting to steal. Victorino looked incredulous and I smiled widely. Then in the bottom of the inning Mejia surprisingly singled with 1 out. He then enjoyed an epic trip around the bases on a Jose Reyes double. Mejia sped to second base, slowed to look at his third base coach, sped up at his behest, slowed to carefully round third base so as not to miss it, then chugged homeward and as the Phillies defense stood jaws wide open, just holding the ball dumbfounded, Mejia lauched himself into the air and belly-flopped onto home plate to score the Mets first run. 1 out later Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run homer deep to right and the Mets had a 3-2 lead. Now back to clouds.
Tinkling and going
With 1 out in the top of the 4th Ryan Howard hit a laser beam into the opposite field seats to tie the game. The Phillies then proceeded to bat around and score 3 more runs for a 6-3 lead. In the 7th inning the Philies would score twice more, once on a Chase Utley solo homer and once when Valdez was hit by Sean Green pitch with the bases loaded. The Mets added a token run in the 8th on a David Wright RBI single. Perhaps the highlight of the game, at least for television viewers, was when Keith Hernandez misspoke and said that “Charlie Manuel tinkled with his lineup” and after suppressing laughter one of the other members of the booth, I can’t recall if it was Gary Cohen or Ron Darling, added “He’s really got the Phillies going” to more guffaws. Thankfully Lucas Duda was not involved. Final score Philadelphia Phillies 8, New York Mets 4.
20 comments
Mr North Jersey
9/10/2010-10:40pm at 10:40 pm (UTC -4)
Mejia will store this one away and hopefully learn from it. Since these games amount to nothing more than a early Spring Training.
I was glad to see that between Davis & Thole they went 5 for 8 combined.
TRS86
9/10/2010-10:41pm at 10:41 pm (UTC -4)
Davis seems to be readjusting to the pitchers readjustment to his adjustment to their adjustment.
Get that?
metsfan4decades
9/10/2010-10:45pm at 10:45 pm (UTC -4)
That guffaw by Keith truly was the highlight of this game. Great graphic them on that, Grave.
Mejia truly is not ready for the ML. Given the fact this is Sep., options are getting limited b/c of Santana, Gee and Niese potential innings limit, I see no problem with Mejia getting a start or two. Anyone watching though it should be obvious he just is not ready. Have no idea if he would have looked a bit more polished if he spent the whole season in the minors. I suspect yet, but we’ll never know.
Thole’s ability to get on base better than I anticipated. And agree, good to see Ike making adjustments that are giving him some success now.
TRS86
9/10/2010-10:48pm at 10:48 pm (UTC -4)
Most likely Mejia is not ready but it’s hard to judge using the Phillies, who have pressure to win, as a measure. I don’t think the stint in the majors hurt him much anyway as he would have already reached his innings limit long ago and been shut down long ago.
metsfan4decades
9/10/2010-10:52pm at 10:52 pm (UTC -4)
That is true. And the runs Mejia gave up were helped out by poor defense behind him as well.
metsfan4decades
9/10/2010-10:49pm at 10:49 pm (UTC -4)
Bah…
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/458639-johan-santana-is-evidence-that-performance-enhancers-were-huge-in-baseball
‘It is clear to me now, as if it wasn’t before that the Mets ace, Johan Santana was using steroids in the early portion of his career. How do you go from being a Rule V draft pick in 1999 to getting a contract that pays about $23 million per season? How did he go from being a mediocre reliever to an All-Star caliber pitcher who won two Cy Young Awards? ‘
TRS86
9/10/2010-10:52pm at 10:52 pm (UTC -4)
I think Halladay must have been using them too considering in 2000 his ERA was over 10.00 and the next year he came back posting a 3.00 ERA and a WHIP less than half of the year before.
What jokes.
metsfan4decades
9/10/2010-10:54pm at 10:54 pm (UTC -4)
This guy just waffles…putting something out there hoping the title will catch many eyes ….and I fell for it. He starts out with that quip above, but ends up with:
‘I just hope that his body is breaking down through natural wear-and-tear and not because he was injecting himself with needles earlier in his career. Maybe the Mets training staff just sucks.’
So is it clear to him or is he just stirring the pot?
stickguy
9/10/2010-10:59pm at 10:59 pm (UTC -4)
pot stirring, for sure.
Mr North Jersey
9/10/2010-10:55pm at 10:55 pm (UTC -4)
The sad thing is because of the roid era this stuff will always come up. Since there is no way of proving his innocence this will not be the last time stuff like this is said.
The guy is clearly speculating so I take such articles with half a grain of salt.
GravediggerHebner
9/10/2010-11:02pm at 11:02 pm (UTC -4)
This might be appropriate here:
http://twitter.com/williamfleitch/status/22816339926
Mr North Jersey
9/10/2010-11:04pm at 11:04 pm (UTC -4)
LoL Great find Grave!
Mr North Jersey
9/10/2010-11:02pm at 11:02 pm (UTC -4)
Man that toilet seat is just freaky.
stickguy
9/10/2010-11:02pm at 11:02 pm (UTC -4)
still glad that mejia is getting his much needed innings up with the mets, instead of sitting around for 2 months, then ramping back up for AZ.
plus, it should give a decent look at how his development stands in terms of being ML ready.
and so far, it seems clear that he needs more time in the minors.
so if a bit of a rough September helps him learn a little, and the mets get a nice reality check that they had best not pencil him into the rotation to start next year, then I guess it is a win win.
Mr North Jersey
9/10/2010-11:30pm at 11:30 pm (UTC -4)
Having missed the press conference today not sure if many already saw this but in a NY Times article it says,
“I know I will be able to start playing catch in January,” Santana said. But when asked specifically about pitching in a game, Santana hedged.
“Whether it’s April, whether it’s May, July, October — who knows?” Santana said. “Time will tell.”
While he is correct that only time will tell how long it will take for Santana to get back. Just the thought that he could possibly not be back till late in the season is just such a bummer to think of.
GravediggerHebner
9/10/2010-11:40pm at 11:40 pm (UTC -4)
I know we don’t all embrace “the injury expert” and his advice but this is what he said:
http://twitter.com/injuryexpert/status/24154756220
I don’t know what UTK is.
stickguy
9/11/2010-10:40am at 10:40 am (UTC -4)
9-10 months? Seems like quite a bit of a hedge there. And if before that you are not a tfull, how close are you?
Besides, he didn’t hit close to full (as in 90-91 regularly) until July or so this year, so maybe we won’t know the difference?
Johan does seem to be in particularly good shape overall though, and some people heal much quicker than estimated (utley say with his hip and thumb), and some much longer (delgado).
I guess the real test will be what he can do when the ST games start.
and I also think (from his coments) that we may see another appearance of Escobar, but hopefully this time on a MiL deal. Hey, if they finally fixed the ongiong problem, maybe he will be worth something!
TRS86
9/11/2010-12:00pm at 12:00 pm (UTC -4)
I think this will also test the powers that be. Are they committed to winning next year or preparing for 2012. If they are serious about 2011 then they now have to get creative and bring in a mid to upper rotation guy. A case could be made that they need that regardless but I think we all debated if they would. To me now if they do not it will be like waving the white flag. I would then join those in suggesting either the Mets are broke, incompetent or both.
stickguy
9/11/2010-11:58am at 11:58 am (UTC -4)
I will toss this here (for lack fo a better place). From Klapish, so take it with a giant grain of salt. But, still a chance he is right for a change. Of course, the rest of the article was mostly rehashed, hyperbolic drivel.
“The process of toppling Minaya might not be so simple. While most everyone assumes the GM will take the fall for the summer’s catastrophes, Minaya isn’t necessarily willing to be re-assigned, as has been widely presumed. His contractual tie to the Mets is strictly as their general manager, meaning he’s not obligated to take any other job in the organization.”
I would be quite pissed (but not at all shocked sadly) if the wilpons kept him on after this latest round of debacles (pointing right at the GM desk), just because they are already paying him, and he doesn’t ant to go do something else more suited to him. Not like if they release him, he will be getting offered another GM job!
THis is a huge off season coming up for the future of this team. ANd man, they need the right people making the plan and executing it.
TRS86
9/11/2010-12:03pm at 12:03 pm (UTC -4)
I am not sure Omar’s contract NOR the guy whom he would replace are enough to persuade the Mets either way. Hell as much as I dislike the premise (hiring just because of fan and cost) bringing in a new GM and Wally and most likely make money off the transaction.